A tawaif (Urdu: طوائف) also Kanjri or Kanjari was a courtesan who catered to the nobility of India, particularly during the era of the Mughal Empire. The tawaifs excelled and contributed to music, dance (mujra), theatre, film, and the Urdu literary tradition, were considered an authority on etiquette. Tawaifs were the influential female elite, were largely a North Indian institution that became prominent during the weakening of the Mughal rule in the mid-18th century. They were part of the feudal society of Northern India.